Preparation of anhydrous magnesium chloride and recovery of metallic magnesium



S. PREPARATION OF ANHYDROUS MAGNESIUMCHLORIDE AND RECOVERY OF METALLIC MAGNESIUM Nov. 15, 1949 MADQRSKY 2,488,474

F'iled May 27, 1946' 2 Sheets-Sheet l 0 4 2 P5 9 5' x 5 I- z 5: Z 70 WATER GAS WATER GAS COMBUSTION ELECTROLYTIC PRODUCER CHAMBER CHLORINE CELL 4: O O gv 0 ,Q g N 51 3, 5 0 n m w O to SOLUTION SOLUTION-T- TANK INSOLUBLES FILTER FLASHTOWER v m 3 I Z 8 z I 5 0 Z z I 2 Z n 2 :1: a g: 5." I x 17 "F\ o o .-o Q 8 2 9 g; z N I 65 -25 5;

C RYSTALLIZING CRYSTALS OF BELT SGRUBBER TANK MQCI NH CL6H O CONVEYOR L GAS MIXTUREZ HCl ,co c'o, N NHz Cl ,H

FICLI Nov. 15, 1949 s. L. MADORSKY 7 PREPARATION OF ANHYDROUS MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE AND RECOVERY OF METALLIC MAGNESIUM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 27, 1946 gwuc/nton Mi Wa 0% Patented Nov. 15, 1949 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PREPARATION .OF ANHYDROUS MAGNE- SIUM CHLORIDE AND RECOVERY OF ME:- TALLIQ-MAGNESIUM Samuel L, Madorsky, Washington, D.

Application May:2;7, 1946, Serial No. 672,538

7 Claims, 1 The present invention relates to the recovery of metallic magnesium from magnesium bearing ores. More particularly itrelates to the preparation of anhydrous magnesium chloride from such ores, and to the utilization of such anhydrous magnesium chloride .the preparationgof metallic magnesium by the electrolytic method.

At the present time, metallic magnesium is produced primarily by theelectrolysis in a fused bath of magnesium chloride. In the existing elec- .trolytic methods of producing magnesium, the

bath feed consists in most .cases of partially hydrated magnesium chloride instead of the anhye drous salt. The :reason for'this lies in the fact that complete dehydration of lVLgClafiI -IzO is ,a protracted, laborious, diflicult and costly process.

Magnesium chloride is usuallyobtained in hydrated formeither from brines .derivedfrom .derground saltdeposits, or fromsea-water. ,Inthe case of brines, which arecomplexmixtures oivari ous .chlorideslthe magnesium chloride is recovered as the hexahydrate .(MgClafiHzO). The hexahydrate is then further dehydrated, ifirst to the tetrahydrate and finallyto MgC12L25I-I2O inIa series of drying steps conducted in a countercurrent manner in the presence of hot air or air combustion gas mixtures. *The first four molecules of 0 {an be m d r m th MQQ FZQ ZQ "by slowly heating the saltinastreamqf-hot air under carefully controlledtemperature conditions. {The MgChAI-IZO can ,be further dried .to ,MgGlz in a stream of hot dry hydrogen chloride by circulating the gas through or-over thewsalt. Bothoi these steps are slow and difiicult, particularlythesecond step, which involves drying the gaseous hydrogen chloride for recirculation.

In recovery from sea-w ater,-magnesium-is,pre cipitated as Mg (Ql-Ilzloy means of calcined lime, converted to MgC12.6H2O 'by solution-in hydrochloric acid, and then;dried further to MgC121.25H2O 'lvlgclz, 1 to 3% MgO and the rest HzQ.

Thus by conventional methods'it is not economical or practical to prepare anhydrous mag nesiumchloride at a cost-suitablylow'to'manugfacture magnesiumbyelectrolysis. The prese'nce of water of hydration is objectionable in the conventional drying process as well aselectrolysis due to the factthat at high temperatures magnesium oxide tends to form through the reaction.

The presence of MgO in the cell feed Causes mechanical difiiculties since it settles to the bottom and accumulates with the result that celloperation must be suspended to permit removal, or other provision must he made for getting the oxide out.

The decomposition of MgC12, in addition to depositing MgQ in the cell, also'liberates l-ICl which p ates corrosi ,di u ties w t in e s l and causes considerable loss of current due to electrolysis of the H01 into H2 and C12, Furthermore someof the MgO formed'in thedecomposi- .tion reacts with the chlorine, and carbon from the electrode, as follows:

thus increasing cost of operation'by accelerating decomposition of the graphite anode. In general, therefore, anhydrous MgClz is a much more desirable feed than the partially hydrated chloride now commonly used and gives smoother and-more efiicient operation of the cell. In addition-the large amount of heat absorbed in the evaporation of the water of hydration cools the cell and requires external heating which is an additional cost factor,while the presence of wateralso causes oxidation and dispersion of the deposited metalhe magnesium, thus reducing yield and rendering complete recovery more difiicult.

While preparation and use of the anhydrous lVIgClz has been practiced by others in the past, their methods of preparing the chloride in this form have'been'expensive and impractical. For example, preparation. of anhydrous MgC12 from he h x hydrat by de ydration a treamnf dry HCl has been practiced, but this method is not generally used dueto expenseand otherl 'di'fficulties. In my priorPatent 2,165,284, dated July 11, 1939, I have described a method for the preparation of anhydrous magnesium chloride from hydrated magnesium ammonium chloride-by first completely dehydratingthe salt to formlanhydrous magnesium ammonium chloride and then decomposing the resulting anhydrous doublesalt in anatm spherecontaining asmall pron rtiei of hydrogen chloride. r It is an objector the present invention .to provide an improved method for preparing anhydrous magnesium chloride. I;t is-a furtherobject oft-he -pr'esent invention to provide a novel method "for 3 the recovery and dehydration of magnesium chloride using magnesium bearing ores and minerals as starting materials. It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a cyclic process for the preparation of metallic magnesium from its ores.

In accordance with the present invention, completely anhydrous magnesium chloride is utilized as feed to the electrolytic step and the method which is utilized for preparing the anhydrous magnesium chloride eliminates and avoids all the difliculties heretofore involved in the preparation of this salt from MgC12.6H2O. I have found that in a sequence of steps starting with the formation of magnesium ammonium carnallite from magnesium bearing ores, I can obtain anhydrous MgClz economically and effectively. In performing these steps, the magnesium bearing ore is dissolved in hydrochloric acid and pure magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate is obtained by precipitation. This salt is then partially dried and the partly dehydrated salt is then simultaneously decomposed to liberate NH4Cl and dehydrated in a flash operation carried out in a manner to be further described below. The anhydrous magnesium chloride thus obtained may then be electrolysed in a fused bath in the conventional manner to obtain metallic magnesium. Liberated chlorine and ammonium chloride are reused in the process in a novel cyclic manner. Ores which may be utilized in the present process include any of those which contain substantial proportions of magnesium, such as magnesite, brucite, dolomite, as well as magnesium silicate ores, such as olivine (MgFehSiOr.

In the drawings, Figure I is a flowsheet of a complete cyclic process describing the steps of the present invention. Figure II is a drawing showing in cross section a specific arrangement for carrying out the dehydration step of the invention.

My process will be discussed more particularly by a description of the successive steps thereof which are illustrated in the flowsheet as shown in Figure I, as follows:

Step I Magnesium bearing ore, such as magnesite (MgCOs) is crushed to a small grain size and dissolved in hydrochloric acid of any desired concentration say 20%, preferably with the application of heat to say, 100 C. or higher. A sufficient amount of ammonium chloride (NI-I401) is then added to the solution to convert the magnesium chloride to the double salt or carnallite, magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate MgC12NH4CL6H2O by the following chemical reaction:

Magnesite ordinarily contains impurities such as Ca, Fe, Al and $102. The first three of these impurities react with the hydrochloric acid to form CaClz, FeCla and AlClz, while S102 remains in the insoluble form. Stoichiometric amounts of magnesium oxide or hydroxide and NH4C1 are then introduced into the solution and a stream of CO2 is passed through the solution. These cause the calcium to precipitate as calcium carbonate and the iron and aluminum as ferric and aluminum hydroxides, while the magnesium of the 4 magnesium oxide is converted into magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate. The reactions involved can be expressed by the following chemical equations:

(4) CaC12+MgO+CO2+NH4Cl+6HzO- MgClz.NH4Cl.6H2O+CaCO3 (5) 2FeCl3-l-3MgO+3NH4C1+21H2O- 3MgC12.NH4C1.6H2O+2Fe (OH) 3 (6) 2AlCl3+3MgO+3NH4Cl+21H2O 3MgC12.NH4C1.6H2O-i-2A1(OH)a In case the iron in the ore is in ferrous state, as, for example, in olivine, precipitation of Fe(OH)2 by means of MgO or Mg(OH)2 is diflicult and incomplete. In this case the FeClz is converted into FeCls by introducing into the solution a stream of chlorine before the step of precipitating the impurities with MgO or Mg(OH)2. Calcined dolomite may be substituted for MgO or Mg(0H)2, since the Mg in the dolomite dissolves in preference to Ca in the presence of CO2. A hot liquor containing MgC12.NH4CI.5H2O in solution and CaCOa, Fe(OI-I)3, ARCH); and $102 in insoluble form is obtained. The solution is filtered while hot and the hot filtrate allowed to cool. Since the solubility of ammonium magnesium carnallite is about 65% at C. and only about 17% at ordinary temperatures, the bulk of the magensium ammonium chloride hexahydrate separates out in crystalline form. The crystals are separated from the mother liquor by decantation or similar means and the mother liquor returned to the next batch of magnesite being dissolved with hydrochloric acid. The crystalline double salt is used in the next step of the process.

As an alternative to the above procedure I may dissolve the magnesium ore in hydrochloric acid, add to the solution at this stage only a fraction of the total amount of NI-I4C1 required, proceed with the steps of precipitating impurities and filtering the hot solution, as described above, then add to the hot filtrate the remainder of the NHiCl required and cool the solution in order to crystallize the double salt MgCl2.NH4Cl.6H2O.

Step II The MgC12.NH4Cl.6H2O obtained in Step I is carried up by means of a belt conveyor I as shown in Figure II enclosed in a conduit 2, to the top of a flash tower 3. Hot air is introduced into the tube through duct 4 in counter-current to the movement of the conveyor, in order to dry the salt and to dehydrate it partially. The air may be heated by introducing it into coil [2 where it is heated by combustion in zone I. At the same time the air so circulated serves to reduce the temperature of the products of combustion to a desired level for introduction into the flash tower. The gaseous stream is maintained at a temperature somewhat below 200 C. preferably between about and 200 C. It leaves the tube through duct 5 carrying away water vapor and is discarded. This preliminary drying step may be performed in a rotary kiln or in any other conventional manner provided the drying is only partial.

The dried partially dehydrated magnesium ammonium chloride (which contains from 2 to 4 mols of H20) falls into a box 6 at the top of flash tower and is forced by means of flaking rollers I l as a flaky material down into the flash tower. The finely divided flaky salt on its way down the tower comes in intimate contact with a hot gaseous stream moving in countercurrent di- 75 rection to it. This gaseous stream is formed by the combustion or a mixtureor chlorine and air with water gas *(C'O' m) or similar 'gas in a combustion chamber near the "bottom -"f the tower. It enters at a temperature of "about 800 ti) 1000 'C. into the tower tl'flol-l'gl'l duct 8 and consists of a mixture of 'HCl, CO2, N2, and some CD. This gaseous'stream serves to vaporize from the descending flakes iii partially dehydrated magnesium ammonium clfl'or ide, the water of hydration and the ammonium chloride, leaving behind anhydrousmagnesium chloride. The an-- hydrous magnesium chloride collects at thebottom of the flash tower in a receptacle 9 either in solid or fused condition and used further in Step III of "the process. The partially dehydrated magnesium ammonium chloride may of course be introduced in crushed or granulated formj'rather than as flakes, or 'in any desired state of comm'inutionwhich will permit the'flash drying operation to be carried out.

-The gaseous stream ie'aves'tnetcwer through duct II] loaded with vapors of NHiCl and H20. The temperature of this gas stream is maintained at about '300' to 356 C., or above, in order to maintain the NHlCl' in gas'eo'us "state. It is scrubbed with water to dissolve its NI-"I401 and HCl content.

In the event the gas stream contains an excess of NI-Li'Cl over "the amount desired in the leaching step, a. portion of the vaporized salt may be removed from the stream-by condensation and the condensed salt can be utilized in the preparationof the double salt. The solution of NH4C1 and HCl is then used in Step I to dis solve a new batch of 'ma'gnesite, while the scrubbedgas, still containing CO2, is used in the preparation of impurities as described in Step I. V g

*Inthe drying tower described above the flash dehydration and decomposition'occurs, in'efiect substantially simultaneously. Actually dehydration is immediately followed by decomposition and the two results occur so quickly that the flash effect described is obtained. In the top region of the tower the partially hydrated salt encounters the hot dry =gas flowing countercurrent thereto and the water of hydrationis almost instantaneously removed. 'In the central region of the tower the anhydrous magnesium ammonium chloride encounters the hot dry gas mixture and ammonium chloride isdriven oil. In the bottom region ofthe tower the magnisum'chloride isfused and is collected in the anhydrous molten state. All of the above operations actually occur within several seconds and the transition from hydrated complex salt to molten magnesium chloride is carried out so quickly in the presence of the hot, dry gas containing HCltha't no opportunity for hydrolysis or other side reactions forming impurities in the MgClz exists. The'removal of water takes place in the top of the tower so that no moisture is present during the ammonium chloride liberation and the fusion steps. Where the'temperature of the hot combustion gasis at or "somewhat below themelting point of magneslum chloride, the product'm'ay'be collected at the bottom of the tower in'the anhydrous solid state rather than in molten condition. 1

In this step the -MgCl2 in-the double salt is being protected by the NI-I4Cl fromreacting with the waterof hydration while the double "salt is being-heated. I havediscovered that the flash evaporation of both the waterand the ammonium chloride at elevated temperatures "of the order of 800* to 1000 C. is highly effective. The pres er ice of EH'Cl in the count'ercurrent g a'seous stream and the relative absence of water vapor this stream serves further to protect the MgClz from any possible reaction with H2O as can be readily seen from the chemical equation:

The presence of HCl and the relative absence of H20 in'the atmosphere will drive the above reaction from right to left. Any MgO that might be formed in the upper region of the tower due to the presence of H20 as water of hydration, will eventually'be reconverted into MgClz in the lower region of the tower by the HCl present in the countercurrent gaseous stream. It is thus apparout that cheer the novel features of my invention consists 'in'he'ating hydrated or partially hydrated MgCl-aN'HiCl at ail-elevated temperature to eliminate-in one step water of hydration and ammonium chloride by vaporization to obtain anhydrous magnesium chloride.

Another novel feature of the present invention is -tl'i-e'formati'on and'applica'tion of a gas suitable for carrying out the step of evaporating NH401 and from the hydrated or partially hydrated magnesium ammonium chloride in the flash tower or similar apparatus. This gas mixture is produced as follows:

In the combustion of-a mixture of chlorine and air with water gas or similar gas in the combustionchamber "I, Figure II, the following possible reactions should be considered:

Of these reactions, (9) does not take place to any appreciable extent at temperatures above 800 C. Reaction (10) takes place with evolution of a considerable amount of heat. Reaction (11) also takes place and with evolution of heat, but the H20 thus formed will immediately react withchlorine in the reverse of Deacons process, as in reaction (-12) which is favored at high temperatures and the 02 resulting from reaction (12) fwill react with CO as in reaction (13) ,which takes place with evolution of considerable heat.

In accordance with the present invention, '1 have found that-by employing a water gas mixture and a chlorine-air mixture such that H2 is present-in the water gas in stoichiometric equivalent proportions to the chlorine in the chlorine-air mixture, and the'CO in the water gas is in slight excess-of that required for a stoichiometric reaction with the oxygen of the chlorine-air mixture, thegas resulting from combustion of such water gas withsuch chlorine-air mixture -will be substantially free from water vapor and will consist principally of gaseous hydrogen chloride, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and some carbon monoxide, in accordance with the complete equation:

(14) (112+ /;02-i-H2-I-CO+N2- V 2HCl+COa+CO+Nz In'the' combustion of Clz+air with a mixture of CO and Hz the gaseous products will be at a temperature higher than required or desirable in the step of vaporizingNmCl and H20 in the flash tower. The temperature of the gas is lowered to about 800-100W centigrade by allowing it to flow in heat exchange with a portion of duct 4, Fig. II, thru which air for partial dehydration of MgC laNI-RCLGHZO is introduced into conduit 2. This arrangement results in an economical utilization of heat, since the heat lost by the combustion gases is utilized to partially dehydrate the ammonium carnallite by preheating the air to a desired level.

The resulting gas mixture will be at the desired temperature effective to function as a drying gas and will be substantially anhydrous to eifectively prevent any decomposition of magnesium chloride. There will be no free chlorine since this has been converted to HCl, and hence free chlorine will not be recovered admixed with the water vapor removed from the salt. A slight excess of carbon monoxide is permitted in the combustion step in order to ensure removal of oxygen as CO2 and in order to permit substantially complete reaction between 1-12 and C12 to form HCl. The slight excess of CO which remains in the gas has an additional function in that in the event any small amounts of free C12 may remain in the combustion products, in the upper portions of the flash tower where some water vapor is present, the CO will react with chlorine to form COCl2 which will immediately decompose in the reaction COC12+H2O- 2HC1+CO2, thus forming additional HCl. Free chlorine in the eiiiuent will constitute a loss since it is little soluble in water and, therefore, not recoverable.

Step III The anhydrous MgCla obtained in Step II is fed into an electrolytic bath consisting of a mixture of fused salts such as MgC12, CaClz and NaCl, and this bath is subjected to electrolysis in the usual manner. Molten magnesium metal collects at the cathode and is removed at regular intervals. Chlorine collects at the anode where it is mixed with cold air to protect the graphite electrode. The mixture of chlorine and air is recovered from the cell and used for combustion with water gas as described in Step II above.

Example To take a specific example, 1 kg. of crushed magnesite, containing 25.45% Mg (42.20%Mg), 2.66% CaO, 3.48% S102, 2.12% FezOa-i-Alzos and 48.5% volatile matter, is mixed with 0.42 kg. of 20% hydrochloric acid and the mixture heated to about 100 C. To this is then added 0.6 kg. NH4Cl and 0.04 kg. MgO, while a stream of CO2 is passed thru the solution. This solution is filtered, while still hot, from the insoluble residue. The residue weighing about 0.11 kg. consists mainly of CaCOs, SiOz, Fe(O'I-I)2 and Al(OI-1)3. The filtrate, weighing 4.95 kg. and consisting of 2.88 kg. hydrated double salt, MgClz.NI-I4Cl.6H2O, and 2.07 kg. free water of solution, is allowed to cool. On cooling to room temperature, the hydrated double salt separates out in crystalline form. The crystals are separated from the mother liquor by decantation and 2.50 kg. of the hydrated double salt is thus obtained. The mother liquor, weighing 2.45 kg. and containing 0.38 kg. of the hydrated double salt in solution, is added to the next batch of rock to be treated.

The hydrated crystalline double salt is first dried at about 180 C. to vaporize the first 3-4 molecules of water of hydration and then treated in the flash tower to vaporize the remaining water of hydration and the NH4C1 associated with the MgClz. About 0.93 kg. of anhydrous MgClz is collected.

The anhydrous MgClz is fed into a bath of molten salts consisting of a mixture of MgClz,

NaCl and CaClz and is electrolyzed. Conventional bath compositions and current conditions are utilized. One such bath composition consists of 25% MgClz, 60% NaCl and 15% CaClz. Metallic magnesium collects at the cathode and, being lighter than the bath, floats to the surface where it is collected at regular intervals. Chlorine collects at the anode where it is mixed with cold air and the mixture is then burned with water gas to form hydrogen chloride and other products of combustion, as described above, and used in the process in a cyclic manner.

I claim:

1. A process for the preparation of anhydrous magnesium chloride which comprises flowing hydrated magnesium ammonium chloride in intimate contact with and countercurrent to a stream of hot, dry gas comprising a minor proportion of hydrogen chloride at a temperature of at least about 800 C. thereby effecting substantially instantaneous dehydration followed by liberation of ammonium chloride, and recovering the anhydrous magnesium chloride So produced.

2. A process for the preparation of anhydrous magnesium chloride which comprises introducing relatively finely divided hydrated magnesium ammonium chloride into the top of a tower and flowing said magnesium ammonium chloride countercurrent to a stream of hot, dry gas comprising hydrogen chloride introduced at the bottom of the tower at a temperature of at least about 800 C'., effecting substantially instantaneous dehydration of said hydrated magnesium ammonium chloride to produce anhydrous magnesium ammonium chloride in the top portion of the tower by contact with hot, dry gas laden with ammonium chloride vapors produced in the decomposition of the anhydrous magnesium ammonium chloride in the lower portion of the tower and recovering anhydrous magnesium chloride from the bottom of the tower.

3. A process for the production of anhydrous magnesium chloride which comprises comminuting partially hydrated magnesium ammonium chloride, dropping said partially dehydrated salt through a stream of hot, dry gas containing hydrogen chloride flowing countercurrent thereto, said dry gas stream being introduced at a temperature above the melting point of anhydrous magnesium chloride, effecting substantially instantaneous dehydration of said partially dehydrated salt to form anhydrous magnesium ammonium chloride followed by decomposition thereof to liberate ammonium chloride and form anhydrous magnesium chloride, and recovering said magnesium chloride in molten state.

4. A process for the preparation of substantially anhydrous magnesium chloride which comprises partially dehydrating magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate, flowing said partially dehydrated salt in countercurrent to a stream of hot gas substantially free from water introduced at a temperature of at least about 800 C. and produced by the combustion of a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide with chlorine and air, the hydrogen and chlorine being present in substantially stoichiometric proportions and the carbon monoxide being present in an amount at least sufficient to react with the oxygen of the mixture, the products of said combustion being a substantially anhydrous gas mixture comprising HCl, CO2, and N2, and separating as a product of the dehydration substantially anhydrous magnesium chloride.

A process for the production of magnesium.

chloride which comprises dissolving a magnesium ride, adding suilicient ammonium chloride to the solution of the ore to convert the dissolved mag-j nesium chloride to magnesium ammonium chloride in solution, precipitating magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate from said solution. subjecting said magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate to partial dehydration and subjecting the resulting partially dehydrated salt to a substantially instantaneous dehydration and decomposition treatment to remove the remainder of the water of hydration and liberate ammonium chloride by flowing said partially hydrated salt in finely divided condition countercurrent to a stream of hot, dry gas containing a minor proportion of hydrogen chloride at a temperature above about 800 C., and recovering the anhydrous magnesium chloride so produced.

6,. A process according to claim 5 wherein the magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate solution formed by the addition of ammonium chloride to the ore solution contains chlorides of calcium, iron and aluminum, and wherein magnesium oxide, carbon dioxide and additional ammonium chloride are introduced into the solution to precipitate the calcium as calcium carbonate and the iron and aluminum as hydroxides, and wherein said precipitates are separated from the solution before precipitation of the magnesium ammonium chloride hexahydrate.

7. A process according to claim 6 wherein any ferrous iron present in the solution is oxidized The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,010,756 Genter Aug. 6, 1935 2,165,284 Madorsky July 11, 1939 OTHER REFERENCES Britton, Hydrogen Ions, pub. by D. Van Nostrand, N. Y. 1929, page 278. 

